The episode was recorded Thursday, when co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke were joined by Montreal-based NHL.com columnist Dave Stubbs to discuss Dominique Ducharme, a first-time NHL coach, replacing Claude Julien.
The Canadiens fired Julien on Wednesday. They also fired associate coach Kirk Muller named Alexandre Burrows an assistant.
Stubbs shared details of the decision made by Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin to change coaches, specifically mentioning how he thinks high preseason expectations and a strong start to the season followed by Montreal's tepid play of late did Julien in.
The Canadiens were 7-1-2 in their first 10 games but are 2-4-2 in their past eight. They visit the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV).
Rosen and Roarke also talked about the upcoming three-game series between the Maple Leafs and Oilers at Rogers Place in Edmonton and the matchup between Toronto center Auston Matthews and Edmonton center Connor McDavid.
The Oilers and Maple Leafs play each other Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. They have split the first four games this season, with the Oilers winning the last one 4-3 on McDavid's goal 42 seconds into overtime Jan. 30.
Roarke asked Rosen if he were a general manager starting a team today and could pick either player, who would he take. Rosen said McDavid. Roarke disagreed, saying Matthews.
Kwame Damon Mason, the creator and co-host of "Soul On Ice: The Podcast," also joined 'NHL @TheRink' to talk about the guests he's had on this month and the importance of Black History Month in the hockey world.
Mason shared how the goal of his podcast is to continue his efforts of normalizing Black faces in hockey by telling stories of the Black women and men in the game. He also talked about the impact of having Black women in the game as role models.
The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on
NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts
and the NHL app.
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Listen: New episode of NHL @TheRink
